Child's Play
by BlueMoonOnTheRise
Summary: Another 10Rose fiction, set after my first story, Hang on in there. Their daughter Zoë is four now, but when she is kidnapped, it is down to the Doctor and Rose to save her, even when they get separated... Review as always :D
1. Happy families

**I'm sorry there's been such a big gap between Hang on in there, and my new story. Stupid really, as I've had this idea for AAAAAAGES!!! Anyway, if you didn't read the first one, this is the sequel to the story I mentioned above. They go together, but this should make sense on it's own. And so…to business. Here is my brand new story!!!! YAY:D Enjoy. Naomi.**

_**Child's Play**_

The TARDIS was completely silent. It was now four years since the Doctor and Rose's daughter, little Zoë had been born, but she wasn't in the TARDIS at the moment. She was staying at Jackie Tyler's, her beloved grandmother's, and right now, it was just the Doctor and Rose alone in the ship. The couple were at present lying on their backs in their now shared room – Rose's own room was long since abandoned, and now belonged to Zoë – talking idly about anything they could think of. A fly was buzzing around somewhere in the next room.

If you were to look around the TARDIS, you probably wouldn't guess that it's occupants spent most of their time travelling to other planets and stopping huge plots to destroy the universe. True, there were a few alien artefacts around; like that watch thing they had picked up from a planet they visited last week, which didn't actually tell the time, but alerted you if any of your enemies were within a 500m radius of you. It wasn't entirely reliable, but it had saved them on a number of occasions, and had never failed to identify that an enemy was near. The problem was that it reacted to perfectly ordinary everyday things too, and had got terribly worked up when a fly had buzzed across the TARDIS once, causing Zoë to shriek with laughter. It only relented when the Doctor had squashed the thing against the ship's wall. Zoë's toys were scattered here and there, too. It wouldn't've been a problem, except that Rose had nearly broken her neck when she tripped over a stray brick that Zoë had left lying around. The Doctor now cleared up any toys if he saw them lying about – Rose's life was going to be far too short anyway, and he didn't need it shortened by stray building bricks.

Rose snuggled closer to the Doctor, smiling at him. He beamed back.

"What you after?" he asked her, stroking her cheek, and kissing her on top of the head, then turning to face her so that they were nose to nose.

"Oh nothing," she told him "Just happy, really. I mean; four years, and we haven't lost each other or got separated, or anything."

"Oh don't say that," the Doctor told her, and she felt him shudder next to her. "Remember what happened last time: _They keep on trying, but I don't think they'll ever separate us…_and then look what happened!"

"Right little ray of sunshine you are," Rose teased him, nudging him playfully. He nudged her right back, then leapt out of bed to prevent her from swatting him. She shrieked, and whacked him hard on the head with her pillow, making him stagger backwards into the wardrobe. Abandoning the pillow, she ran over to him, cupping his face in her hands.

"Aww, poor Doctor," she said, kissing him. He kissed her back, deepening it, bringing her closer to him so that you couldn't tell where his body ended and hers began. They might not have long together (in Timelord terms, anyway) but he was going to make every minute count.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Zoë giggled as her Granddad picked her up and whirled her around, then set her back down on her feet. Her Auntie Daisy, who was only a year and a bit older than her, jumped up and down.

"I want a go!" she yelled, holding out her arms for Pete to pick her up. He smiled, and dutifully picked up his own daughter, too, whirling her around and around. She shouted with delight, and Zoë watched her. Bored, she wandered over to her Grandma.

"When's Mummy coming to get me?" she asked, fixing Jackie with that intense stare of hers, which reminded Jackie of how the Doctor sometimes looked at people, when he wanted information out of them, or when he simply felt like staring at them (although it was only Rose that he ever stared at for the heck of it).

"Why, d'you miss her?" Jackie asked.

"No…I just wondered," Zoë turned away. Then she looked back at Jackie. "Why's that man staring at us?"

Jackie glanced in the direction Zoë was pointing. There was a man there, but he wasn't staring at them. Far from it. He was looking into space, idly feeding the ducks hunks of bread from his pocket. He certainly didn't look suspicious either – just an elderly man out for a stroll. Jackie turned back to her granddaughter, who was still staring at her expectantly. God, that girl was suspicious; but then, things her parents got up to, she'd've been more surprised if she wasn't. How many kids grew up saving the world from aliens?

"Zoë, he's not staring at us," she told her. "He's just at the park, just like us."

Zoë scowled. She hated it when grown ups didn't believe her. She knew what she had seen, it wasn't a mistake. Mummy or Daddy would believe her. She stomped off to join Daisy.

About an hour later, when Daisy and Zoë had finally tired of the swings, the little party of four left the park. That was when the man moved. He had been stock still for the past two hours, whilst Zoë had been in the park, but now he was getting up. He ran his gnarled hands through his silver hair, breathing hard. Abandoning the pond, he begun to walk, hobbling on alternate legs, earning himself some strange looks from passers by. He smiled at them, but his smile was more like a leer. They scattered. He grinned. Just so long as the girl didn't see him…she was a smart kid. Which proved his suspicions. He couldn't believe an ordinary four year old…well he'd have to wait and see. He walked hurriedly after the little family, pulling a phone out of his jacket, and punching in some numbers. He lifted it to his ear with a trembling hand, and spoke into it, his gravely voice muttering quickly down the line. After a moment he snapped it shut, in time to see Zoë disappearing round a bend, holding hands with the other girl. They were laughing and shrieking like any four or five year old girl did. Maybe they were wrong. Only time would tell.


	2. Bad news

**I knew there was something I forgot to put at the beginning of chapter 1! Thankyou so much to all the lovely, lovely people who wrote such nice reviews for my first story. Love you all!**

**Another chapter then. There is some VERY bad news in this one, and possibly some action, although I might just leave you all on a cliffhanger, just for fun. XD **

Rose's phone rang urgently in the background. She ignored it, hoping it would shut up. It didn't. It rang loudly and persistently, and she sighed. She reluctantly pulled away from the Doctor, picked it up, and answered it unenthusiastically. She recognised the voice on the other end as her mother's. She rolled her eyes at the Doctor from across the room. Jackie begun to speak at once.

"Rose! Rose, there's some men at the house, they're after something!"

A horrible thought came into Rose's head, and she could tell by his expression he was thinking the same. A growing feeling of dread collected in the pit of her stomach.

"Go on…" she said, feeling she really didn't want to hear _what_ they were after.

"Zoë, Rose, it's Zoë," Jackie sounded close to tears "Hurry, I don't know how much longer we can keep her from them!"

Rose froze.

"Move, move, move!" she yelled to the Doctor, but he was already halfway to the control room. She ran after him, but even before she reached him, she felt the ship tilt beneath her. She slammed into the wall. The phone went dead. She shoved it into her pocket, and sprinted to the Doctor's side, hanging on to him for support – both from the swaying TARDIS, and the thought that someone was after their daughter.

"It'll be okay," he assured her, despite the fact he had never sounded less sure of himself in the whole time she had known him. She tried to smile but couldn't. A particularly violent jerk sent them sprawling in a heap on the floor, and they lay there, clinging to each other, horrific picture of what might happen to their daughter if they didn't get there in time flashing through both of their minds. The TARDIS was juddering violently beneath them, but for once not even the Doctor was worrying. She would live, but if they didn't get to Zoë in time…well he really didn't want to think about it. He held onto Rose, fighting back tears. She was shaking. He held her close. He just hoped that the pair of them were just getting overly hyped up – maybe Jackie had panicked – they might not be after Zoë, they might not even be at the house anymore. The TARDIS spluttered to a halt, and Rose and the Doctor leapt up, disentangling themselves from each other so quick that had you blinked you would have missed. They dashed out off the TARDIS, a lump rising in Rose's throat as she blinked back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. If anything happened to Zoë, and they hadn't been there to prevent it, she wouldn't ever forgive herself.

"Rose," said the Doctor softly, slowing down "Are you okay?"

"Just keep going," she replied, face set, teeth gritted in determination. He followed her lead as she hurtled in the direction of the Tyler's house. They were nearly there. 500m. 300. Just 50m away…a man came out of the house, holding Zoë, who was screaming her lungs out. Rose dashed towards them, yelling.

"Zoë! Get off her! Zoë, sweetheart!"

Rose's fist collided with the man's head with a sickening crack. But he was strongly built, and she was like a little fly to him, irritating him. Her punch threw him off balance for a fraction of a second, but he regained himself quickly, sending her sprawling on the ground. The Doctor had caught up by now, and he was trying in vein to reach Zoë, doing all he could to batter the man to pieces. Rose took the opportunity to knee him hard between the legs. He doubled over, swearing under his breath. Rose reached out for Zoë, but he had thrown her to another man, who was getting into a van, which was screeching down the road before either of them had a chance to do anything. The man who had captured her was still doubled up, wheezing. Rose wasn't watching him. She wasn't watching the Doctor either. She was staring into space, tears pouring down her cheeks, thinking of Zoë. Someone came up behind her, and hugged her close. It was the Doctor. She wanted to shout and scream at him for letting them take Zoë, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. She was as much to blame as he.

Rose completely broke down in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He held her to him, rocking her gently, feeling her whole body shaking with grief. She hadn't cried this much since he had had to leave at Bad Wolf Bay four years ago. Finally, she clamed enough to look up at him, eyes red.

"We'll find her," the Doctor told her, desperately wishing he could do something more to comfort her, he hated seeing her so upset "I promise Rose. We'll find her."

Rose managed a watery smile, and nodded.

"I know," she said finally. Then she stopped, looking at him. "Doctor?"

"Yes."

"We ought to check on Mum and that. I can't believe they'd let Zoë go without putting up a fight. What if they've hurt them?" She was starting to sound desperate. Just about everyone she cared for something bad was happening to. He just hoped that Jackie, Pete and Daisy were merely unconscious, and nothing worse. He wasn't sure Rose would cope if they had…well he'd rather not think like that. He pushed open the front door, which was hanging off one hinge. Rose followed him, peering round him tentatively. Neither of them were quite sure what they were going to see.

Rose gasped next to him. Jackie and Pete were sprawled on the floor, about 20m away from Daisy, who was sitting there, shaking like a leaf. Rose immediately ran over to her, and held her close.

"It's okay, Daisy," she told her little sister, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. "Doctor, what's wrong with them?"

"Just unconscious," he assured her. Rose could've kissed him (and wasn't quite sure why she didn't). They were gonna be alright.

**What's gonna happen next:O Will they rescue Zoë, and why has she been captured. Well, if you wanna find out, just review… I'll try to update soon:D**


	3. Chasing cars

**Sorry I've taken so long with this chapter, but I was having a bit of trouble with it. I knew what I wanted to happen, but couldn't get them to join together. Aaagrh! So, sorry if it's a bit bitty, but hopefully next chapter will be better.**

Shakily, Rose got to her feet, gently releasing Daisy, and walking over to the Doctor.

"I can't believe this," he said quietly, anger in his voice. "Why would _anyone _do this? I mean, it's horrible."

Rose nodded.

"I know," she agreed, managing to keep her voice steady. "But why Zoë? Why not someone else? Why particularly _our_ little girl?" The Doctor looked at her, and suddenly it clicked "No! Not because she's…but…why?"

He didn't have an answer to that. His best guess was that Zoë had been taken because she was part alien, but as to the reasons why they would kidnap a innocent four year old girl just because of that was a complete mystery to him. He pull Rose closer to him, nuzzling the top of her head. He sighed.

"I guess we'd better revive Jackie and Pete," he managed finally.

"Yeah," Rose twisted round and kissed him gently, pleased of something to do, to take her mind off Zoë before they thought of how to rescue her. She knew they would, because she trusted the Doctor more than anyone else. So, together, they set about reviving her parents. Daisy watched, chewing her thumb nervously, like she hadn't done in years. Gradually, she managed to bring Jackie round, who blinked blearily in the bright light. Suddenly she realised what was happening, and jerked upright.

"Rose! They've got Zoë, those men, you've got to save her! Quick, before they drive off!" she jumped to her feet.

"Mum, it's too late. They've got her."

The Doctor looked up from Pete, at Rose, who was shaking. She wasn't crying anymore, just shaking, and he knew she was scared. For Zoë. He was too. He reached out and hugged her close.

"We'll get her back, I promise."

Rose nodded, kissing him quickly, then moving away from him slightly, and turning back to Jackie.

"Mum, we gotta go," she told her. Jackie nodded.

"Good luck."

"Hey, hey, hey!" the Doctor interjected "How exactly are we gonna find her? Search every van within a 100mile radius or something? That's never gonna work!"

"No," Rose told him, nearing him again "I believe your ship can trace the van in question; all we need to do is that, then materialise inside the van, grab Zo, and run."

He gaped at her, speechless.

"Why didn't I think of that?" he protested "I blame you, Rose Tyler, you're making me lose my common sense!"

"You never had any," she assured him, laughing "Just 'cause I'm cleverer than you…"

"Are not!" he said indignantly, as she smiled up into his eyes.

"Are too," she teased, giving him that gorgeous tongue between the teeth smile, that made him want to take her up against the nearest wall and snog her completely senseless. He hoped he could resist for the moment at least – he and Rose might have a daughter now, but he still didn't think that Jackie would approve of them doing that right in front of her – after all, he wouldn't want to watch people snogging each other. Sighing, he wrenched his eyes away from Rose's, and took her hand.

"Let's get going then," he said, pulling Rose along. She waved at Jackie, who waved back, mouthing _good luck_ at her, as the Doctor fumbled with the lock. Giving up, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the lock. It hummed, and the door swung open. Muttering under his breath about humans and dodgy locks, he and Rose walked back down the street at a brisk pace, hoping against hope that Zoë would be alright.

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor leapt around the controls, jabbing at buttons, pulling levers, jerking bits of loose wire irritably, before returning to the task at hand. Usually Rose loved to watch him do this, it was like watching a master at work (although she never told the Doctor this, he could be bigheaded enough as it was) but now she hung behind him impatiently, wishing he'd hurry up. He glanced over his shoulder at her, trying to press two buttons at opposite ends of the console at once.

"Rose, do you have to hover like that? Get the…yeah that one," her said as she reached over to put in the coordinates into the scanner.

"Sorry, I'm just so…"

"Worried, I know," he said "Join the club."

She smiled weakly.

"Well, give it another ten minutes, we'll have nothing to worry about," she said, hoping against hope she was right.

"Yup," the Doctor agreed encouragingly, walking next to her "…here we go!"

The ship lurched into life. Rose clung onto the Doctor, and he onto her as the TARDIS swayed and pitched like a boat caught in a storm. The doors flew open, revealing a motorway speeding beneath the little blue box. Rose's hair whipped back into the Doctor's face, as she twisted round to face him.

"You're mad!" she managed before he caught her mouth with his, and kissed her gently.

"I always have been," he told her softly pulling away "C'mon."

He wound string around the pillars, hooked it onto levers, around every little thing that jutted out in the TARDIS, then split the end, handing one half to Rose, and holding the other firmly between his teeth. She copied him. She could see the white van just ahead of them. The glass at the back was tinted, but she reckoned she could see the silhouette of a small girl slumped inside. With some satisfaction, Rose saw the driver turn a nasty grey colour as he spotted the TARDIS in hot pursuit. Obviously, they had not expected Zoë's parents to be able to trace the van with such ease, even if they did know, somehow, that one of them was alien. She glanced sideways at the Doctor. He was rummaging in his inside pocket, desperately searching for his sonic screwdriver, while clinging to the doorframe of the TARDIS. Rose looked back at the van. It had gone.

"Doctor!" she called, over the rush of wind and roar of passing car engines. He looked at her, then at the mass of vehicles. Squinting through the smog, he pointed.

"There!"

His ship lurched alarmingly in the direction he was pointing, gathering speed. Cars flashed past in a blur of colour, and exhaust fumes blurred their vision. Coughing, the Doctor pointed his screwdriver at the door. A faint humming noise could be heard over the traffic, and the van door sprang open.

"ZOË, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!!!!!" he bellowed, leaning as far towards her as he dared. Rose was beside herself with anxiety; one step further, and he would fall out… "Right…see you in a minute Rose."

"What!!!!!!????" she yelled "No way are you jumping, not in a million years."

"Rose, I _am not_ losing you again!"

"I don't care, I can't fly the TARDIS. What if you get stuck on that bloomin' van? There's no way I could rescue you then, we'd all be stuck"

"Well…"

Brilliant," Rose said, releasing her bit of string, and clinging onto the doorframe so she wasn't sucked out onto the road. She smiled at him. "See ya in a sec, then."

He looked at her. Then, before he could stop himself, the words he had been longing to say for so, so long came tumbling out of his mouth.

"Rose – will you marry me?"

"I don't think now's quite the time!" she said, seizing him around the waist to stop herself falling "But yes!" she added, beaming at him. And jumped.

**Phew, quite glad to have finished that. If any of you have seen Pirates 3, you may notice the nicked line :) Anyway, please review as usual, and thanks to everyone who has already.**


	4. It's not alright

**A llama blew a raspberry at me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rude thing! Oh yeah, again, sorry this took so long to update, but it helps if you're actually allowed near a computer! **

Rose landed catlike in the doorway of the van, and looked quickly around. There was Zoë, huddled in a corner, looking terrified, but unhurt. It was dark and dirty and damp, and there was a strong smell of mould. Rose wrinkled her nose. There were no windows. Before the Doctor had opened the door, it must have been pitch black. If there was one thing Zoë was afraid of, it was the dark. Rose reached out her arms for her daughter, and Zoë walked towards her, snuggling into her. 

"C'mon," Rose told her, moving towards the door, where she could see the Doctor anxiously waiting for them "It's ok, Zo. Everything'll be just fine."

"Rose, hurry up!" the Doctor shouted, hopping from foot to foot in agitation "The TARDIS can't keep this up for much longer."

Rose turned to Zoë. She was biting her lip, eyeing the motorway with big frightened eyes. 

"Mummy…"

"We have to, sweetheart. Just one little jump…" Rose hugged Zoë closer to her, and instinctively checked that no cars were coming – she didn't no why she bothered, because the Doctor had brought the TARDIS inches away from the van, probably for Zoë's sake, and there was no way even a smart car™ could have fitted through the gap. Rose was just about to jump, when several things happened at once. 

The van driver spotted the TARDIS in his wing mirror, and slammed his foot to the floor, nearly throwing Rose and Zoë out of the back of the van. The TARDIS groaned and sputtered noisily for about a second, then unable to keep flying, the engine died, and the big blue ship crashed into the back of a car, which crumpled. The Doctor disappeared inside.

"No, no, NO!" he shouted, trying to get the ship flying again, as the van sped into the distance. He watched it become a tiny brown speck, then vanish. Swearing under his breath in Gallifreyan, the Doctor walked over to the control panel.

_Couldn't you have held on for _one _more minute, old girl? _he asked his ship angrily.

_I'm not a flying ship, as you well know _she retorted _Besides, Rose can look after herself._

_I know; I'd just rather she didn't have to. You know I don't want to lose her._

_Personally, I think you're a bit over- protective. _The TARDIS told him _Protect her, yeah, but don't wrap her up in cotton wool, and not let her do anything. You know she likes to do things for herself._

The Doctor scowled as the TARDIS broke their mental connection. Sighing, he set the coordinates for just outside Torchwood. As they were always mucking things up, they were bound to know something about this. The TARDIS reluctantly clunked into action, and they were off.

Zoë clung to Rose for support, shaking and chewing her fingernails. Rose hugged her tightly back, glad that she at least had Zoë.

"Mummy, you're squashing me," she told Rose matter- of- factly, wriggling. Rose relented her grip slightly, but didn't let go. "I'm guessing this isn't good news," Zoë continued "I mean, getting kidnapped and all that. What do they want with us?"

Rose sat there for a moment, considering her answer.

"Well…we don't know but…" she stopped, then continued "We – Daddy and me – think it might be because you're part alien."

Zoë looked at her.

"Really?"

"Yes, your Dad's a Timelord."

"I know _that,_" Zoë told her "You said that ages ago. But I didn't know he was alien. I thought Grandma and Granddad were really strange, 'cause they don't have a ship like Daddy."

Rose smiled. When she and the Doctor had told Zoë she was half Timelord, it had occurred to neither of them that Zoë might think that a Timelord was anything but alien. It also seemed strange that what Zoë considered normal, was about as far from it as you could get. Although, thinking about it; over the last few years, travelling through time and space had become normal to her, too. She smiled at Zoë.

"We'll be ok, Zo," she said, for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Stop saying that, please," Zoë told her "I know that's adult's way of saying _I'm really very worried, but don't want to admit it._"

**Bit of a short chapter there, but it seemed right to end it there. I'm getting quite attached to Zo, she's very smart and sweet. Hopefully next chapter will be along soon, and hopefully be a bit longer, but please review this one anyway :p Naomi.**


	5. Non pathetic fallacy

**I'm pleased with this chapter. It has a very weird name, I will admit, but me likes it all the same. Certainly a lot longer than the last one everyone cheers and très très très descriptive! Whey!!!! XD **

The van slowed outside a large, grey square building, with copious amounts of graffiti sprayed on the outside. There were a few grimy window scattered haphazardly across the walls, but they were small, as though the inhabitants wished to keep their business private. It looked dank and dismal. Bins nearby were stuffed to bursting with litter, which spilled onto the cobbled road. Drains were oozing dark brown liquid.

Rose picked up Zoë, and held her to her, more to comfort herself than Zoë, but the child snuggled appreciatively into her chest all the same. Two men grabbed them, and began to pull her roughly towards the building. Almost instinctively, Rose dug her heels into the ground. One of the men swung round to face her. He was a thug, built similarly to a sumo wrestler, and very, very muscly. She winced as he held her in a vice like grip, his face horribly close to her own. She could see sweat beading his forehead, despite the fact it was quite cool, see the uneven stubble peppering his chins. She swallowed hard, trying not to breathe in his fishy odour, and resisting the urge to be sick.

"You just come quietly, missy," he growled, broken yellow teeth bared, spit flying from his mouth. Rose leaned backwards, trying to keep her disgust off her face, and avoid being covered in spit at the same time "You come quietly, and we won't hurt you. If you don't…" he left his sentence hanging threateningly. Rose nodded, took Zoë's hand, and allowed herself to be dragged towards the building. Getting herself beaten up was not on her list of things to do, and she knew it would only infuriate the Doctor when he found out, which could possibly distract him from the task at hand – which was finding out exactly why they had kidnapped Zoë, or if it were a coincidence. Besides, Rose needed a look around this place herself, and two black eyes would make her conspicuous.

She kept her head bowed as they entered, trying to look meek and scared. She was not helped by Zoë, who was throwing her exasperated looks, and giggling at her. Rose hissed at Zoë to be quiet, and snuck a look around. It was surprisingly clean given it's gungy exterior (I used a big word :D). Shiny white surfaces gleamed unnaturally, making the little group squint in the brightness. As she was herded hastily across the room, Rose took in several whirring machines, a pair of what looked suspiciously like Slitheen fingernails, a long stripy scarf half hidden under a pile of documents in neat, italic writing, a few sketches of cybermen with some hastily taken notes, most of which ended in question marks, a Dalek gun, and an ink splattered report titled: _Aliens; friend or foe?_ Rose twisted round to read it, but was jerked violently by one of the thugs, steered through an open door to the right, and next thing she knew, her legs had banged into a small and battered wooden desk. A small gold sign had **Manager** engraved crudely into it. Paper littered the wall, desk, and large parts of the floor. Rose was taken aback – she had expected more sterile white plastic-y stuff. Even more surprising was the woman seated behind the desk – she was plump and friendly looking, more like someone's grandmother than manager of what Rose only assumed to be a major international scale alien organisation. She might have been surrounded by artefacts from other worlds and lengthy reports on different species, but Rose still saw her as someone that would be more comfortable sitting at home telling stories form "the good old days" to the grandchildren. That was, until she opened her mouth.

"Take her away," she barked at the men, jerking a thumb at Zoë. She turned to Rose, smiling sweetly. "Now, darling, tell me everthing you know."

The Doctor sprinted out the TARDIS the second she landed, even before she had fully materialised. He dimly acknowledged the huge stature of Canary Wharf looming ahead, as he sprinted straight for it. He burst inside the front doors, vaulted over the desk at the front of the entrance hall (the receptionist nearly had a heart attack), and crashed through the next set of double doors. He slowed slightly at this point, glancing around the corridor for a lift. He spotted one, and ran towards it, pummelling the _up _button furiously. He heard a lift clanking lazily down to meet him, taking at least ten times longer than any lift should ever take – particularly if an angry Timelord is waiting for it, desperately worried about the love of his life and their daughter, knowing the answer to their disappearance lies at the top.

"COME ON!!!!" he yelled, stabbing the button so ferociously it fell out the hole in the wall, and lay dangling by a few wires; but the Doctor was too upset to care. Swearing violently, he began to run back up the corridor to the stairs, which was when the lift arrived.

"Bloody HUMANS!" he shouted, exasperated, turning round AGAIN "Can't they make ANYTHING that actually WORKS?"

He practically leapt inside, and hit the number 100 (once he had actually located it), and the lift shot upwards, gathering speed as it went. He stood inside, jiggling from foot to foot, cursing humans – except Rose – with every word he could think of (his vocabulary was quite extensive). When he finally reached the top floor, he had managed to recite 512 words, in 45 different languages, and he was so pleased with this new found talent, he almost, _almost,_ forgot what he was there for. It came rushing back in an instant though. Blinking in the bright sunlight pouring in through the large windows, he looked up and down this new corridor. He had vague memories of sprinting up a similar one with Rose, on their way to the void room, but at that particular time, he had been unable to take much notice of little details. It was ironic, really, the weather being so cheery, and him being so – not. He remembered that when the weather reflected one's mood in a story, it was called pathetic fallacy…so what would it be when it was opposite? Hard fallacy? Non pathetic fallacy? Fallacy pathetic? He gave himself a mental shake. He wasn't here to think about fallacies – pathetic or otherwise. He was here to save Rose and Zoë. He found a shiny white door labelled **Director **and barged straight in. He looked the sharp, dark haired man in the eyes, his own burning into those unbelievably calm pair.

"WHAT," he said, his voice low and threatening, dark eyes flashing "HAVE YOU DONE WITH ROSE TYLER?!"

**mwhahahahahahahaha! Review lovely people, please, and I may update it quicker. If not…**


	6. DWOORTH & CO

**Ok, chapter 6. Thankyou to everyone who reviewed last chapter, you all make me so happy :D I really hope I've updated this sufficiently quickly, and that's it's any good. And, just another random thought, Billie Piper said on newsround AAAAAAGES ago **_**I am leaving Doctor Who for THE MOMENT AT LEAST. **_** Ooooh…**

Jackie sat in her and Pet's bedroom, applying her usual makeup. She didn't seem to notice that she had been putting foundation on one area of her face for ten minutes now, making her look like a lopsided…well like a lopsided Jackie. She was thinking about Rose. Rose, and the Doctor. And dear little Zoë. Her eyes were glazed over in worry and she got up from her dressing table, and it was a mark of the seriousness of the situation, that she hadn't noticed half her make up was applied in all the wrong places. But she was worried about her daughter, so we shall excuse her.

Jackie walked briskly down the three flights of stairs to breakfast, half hoping to see the TARDIS materialise in a corner, or the Doctor appear, holding about seven bananas he had just nicked from the fruit bowl, and Rose next to him, holding Zoë, and laughing. But no one came. Jackie was beginning to get worried – not because Rose had been away from home for over a day, she had lost that habit when Rose turned thirteen – but because she had said the second they found Zoë, they would come straight back. And they weren't back. Meaning they hadn't found Zoë yet.

"Mummy!" came an excited squeal from the kitchen, and a small girl flung herself at Jackie, jumping up and down in glee "Mummy, look, Daddy bought _Frosties_!" Daisy beamed, muching happily on the sugared flakes. Jackie tried to look vaguely pleased.

"That's brilliant, sweetheart," she managed, sinking into a chair beside Pete. He pecked her on the cheek by way of morning greeting, and poured her some coffee.

"Morning Jacks," he sighed "You OK?"

"No, no," Jackie said absent mindedly "Any news from Rose?"

"Well the Doctor…"

"The Doctor???!!!!"

"Yes. He nearly scared the life out of Alan yesterday, poor bloke. Came bursting into Torchwood, demanding to know where Rose was."

"So they've been separated?" Jackie asked, heart sinking "That's not good; those two stick to each other like bloody glue."

"Well she wasn't with him," Pete informed her "And nor was Zoë."

"Great."

The man sat there, quavering under the Doctor's murderous stare.

Rose stood opposite the manger, too appalled to speak

Zoë tried to scream as a strange man clapped a hand over her mouth, pulling her away from her mummy.

"Well?" he half shouted, glaring at the man in fornt of him. "Where's Rose?" he said, beginning to sound desperate "Please," he said, more gently "I need to just see her, _please_."

"Peter Tyler's daughter?" said the man "I'm Alan, by the way."

"Fantastic," the Doctor replied sarcastically, not bothering to keep the rudeness out of voice "Um, about _Rose._"

"Oh yeah, are you two…"

"YES!" the Doctor yelled in frustration "We have a four year old daughter, for Christ's sake! Which is the problem, seeing as she's been kidnapped by _someone_ – can't imagine who – because she's part alien. Why are humans so _slow_?"

"You're not…human then?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, no, of course not. But we have no records of any kidnapping of small girls."

"And you wouldn't tell me if you did," the Doctor sighed "I know."

Alan smiled weakly for a moment, fiddling with some papers underneath the desk. He noticed the Doctor's eyes dart to the paper, and frowning, attempting to read it upside down. He looked back at Alan.

"What's that?"

"Oh, just a report from DWOORTH & CO, a sister branch of Torchwood. Started off as a small study group investing the bio chemistry of the genetic make up of different species DNA. They've branched out a bit, now."

"What do you mean, branched out?"

"Well now it's a major international racist group, campaigning against aliens. Only last week got permission from the government to – ah – cut down on other species." Alan smiled wryly "I'm sorry."

The Doctor had gone very white. He left the room at a sprint, swearing violently. His last words as he left the room were:

"I fucking HATE Harriet Jones! She started all this! Stupid…"

Alan smiled, and pressed a small black button under the desk. Which was when the alarm went off.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!" Rose screamed at the woman, who was surveying her, smiling benignly, a hint of amusement playing around her lips. "WHERE IS SHE?!!"

The manager smiled more widely.

"Darling, if you don't keep your voice down, I will sadly have to seduce you. She fingered a syringe, twiddling it between long, sharp fingers.

"KEEP MY VOICE DOWN?!!" Rose yelled at her "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DAUGHTER?"

"Aaaaah: your daughter, eh?"

"Yes, my daughter," Rose said defiantly, glaring at her.

"I don't suppose you no the whereabouts of her father, do you?"

"No," Rose said savagely "We split up before she was born, she never knew him."

"I don't believe you," the woman informed her sweetly. "You see, I happen to know that you and her father recently travelled to Barcelona – a long awaited trip, if my sources are correct. I believe he said he was going to take you about five years ago." She smiled at Rose's dumbstruck face "I thought so. Lock her up," she ordered.

The two men who had dragged them here in the first place reappeared, grinning stupidly, and swinging arms like huge hams by their sides. Rose grimaced. A third man had appeared, too. He had dark hair and deep, intense eyes. She turned to him. "And make sure you find this young woman's boyfriend," she instructed him, making sure Rose heard every word "Nothing like torture to make people talk."

Rose struggled against the two men binding her. If she ever saw that woman again, she was gonna _strangle _her.

"You go ANYWHERE NEAR my Doctor, and I'll kill you!" she yelled.

The thugs had taken Rose underground, and thrown her unceremoniously into a small cell, and slammed the door. It was awful. The wall and floor were covered in centuries of grime, making it look like they were made of algae, not rock. A single, grubby bed was shoved into one corner. The mattress was thin and lumpy, and the stained sheets and blankets hung damply in the gloom. There was a leg missing.

Rose curled up miserably on the bed, missing the Doctor's warmth and comfort. It seemed hopeless. She was stuck in a cell, a locked cell, no less, in God know's where. Her only hope was that the Doctor would find her, and let her out. But hang on…when had locked doors been a problem for the Doctor? So why should they be a problem for her? Getting up off the mouldy blankets, she dug in her pocket, until she found what she was looking for. It was a bit rusty, but it would have to do. Inserting the hair pin into the key hole, she twisted it around, searching for resistance. _There was no lock._ Frowning, she dropped the pin back in her pocket, and pushed down on the door handle. It was locked. That was weird. Unless…maybe it had electronic locking or something, maybe it was controlled by a computer. She sighed, and retreated back onto the bed, hugging her knees, and trying to think of an escape plan. This was what the Doctor was good at. She needed him. Gnashing her teeth in frustration, she banged her head against the wall. All that achieved was creating a large bump on the back of her head.

"I t can't be impossible," she told herself "Nothing's impossible."

Gradually, Rose fell into an uneasy sleep. She didn't notice the letters painted crudely on the wall.

DWOORTH & CO

**:D Review!**


	7. Stuck

**Hello! I think this chapter is a little late in coming, but I prefer it to the last one, and hope it is worth the wait. Just a quick note re: last chapter, the manager meant sedate, NOT seduce (oops). So, on with the show…**

Rose paced around the tiny cell, frustatement coursing through her whole body like poison. She was stuck in this poky little room, while her Doctor was God knows where, on his own. And Zoë was, too. How these people had the heart to take little four year old girls away from their parents she didn't know, but if Zoë was hurt…she really wouldn't like to be in these people's shoes. DWOORTH & CO. The name kept nagging at the back of her mind, as though she had heard it somewhere before, but she was positive she hadn't. Maybe she was just going mad. She had tried rearranging the letters: she managed door, coot, woot, hoot; but what any of these had to do with either her, Zoë, or the Doctor she didn't know. After several fruitless hours, she had given up. One of the big, burly men who had thrown her in here in the first place visited three times a day to push food through the door. She tried interrogating him, but she may as well have asked the door knob. All she got was a grunt and a punch. At least the door knob wouldn't've given her a black eye.

The days dragged on, and Rose found no ways of either escaping or gathering useful information. She got several more bruises from trying to talk to the man – who was, incidentally, named Bruce Purple. Desperate and frustrated, she had attempted to get past him several times, but he spotted her. She propped the bed up on it's end, and used it as a ladder to investigate further up the wall, inspected every inch of the room for hidden doors, planned infinite escape plans, kicked the bed (not that she really expected that to help, all that did was give her a sore toe). Most of all she missed the Doctor and Zoë. She missed having the Doctor to curl up against, she missed his stupid remarks, his long winded 90 mile an hour explanations, his arms tightly around her, the huge grin he wore whenever he saw her, the way he spun Zoë around his head till she screamed, his warm mouth pressed against hers. She missed Zoë rumpling her hair up when she'd just done it, her habit of walking in on her and the Doctor when he was about to kiss her or something, her cheeky little smile, her ability to repeat the Doctor's explanations twice as quick and add some of her own material, then look to them for praise. Rose had always thought of herself as independent, but she saw now how much she really needed her family.

The Doctor looked around as the sirens blared out. Chairs clattered down every corridor as people got up to see what they had found. The Doctor knew he would be surrounded in seconds if he didn't move, so he leapt down the corridor, looking left and right for a temporary hiding place. He found a cupboard full of mops and buckets, slid inside and snapped the door shut behind him, immediately plunging himself into impenetrably darkness. It was amusing to hear the employees running up and down searching for him. He knew Zoë would have found him in an instant, but then again, she was a child. Humans tended to lose their imagination when they got to a certain age. It was amazing how rubbish adults were at hide n seek.

After the hubbub died down, the Doctor snuck out of his cupboard, donned a Torchwood white coat, and headed for the exit. No one saw him leave. Amazing what a white coat can do. He smiled to himself, until he remembered what he was here to do. And he had got no further. Unless… Alan had mentioned DWOORTH & CO, which according to him was an alien racist group. Which made sense. Zoë was half alien which was why they captured her, and left Jackie, Pete, and Daisy alone. Yeah, that worked. Why they hadn't tried him he didn't know, but he wasn't really bothered. All that mattered was that he knew where Rose and Zoë were.

Three hours later, the Doctor was still parked just outside Torchwood.

_You're _sure _that you've never ever ever heard of DWOORTH & CO_

_Yes, I'm sure. I care about Rose and Zoë, too, you know. If I knew I'm not gonna hide it form you._

_True. They could be doing anything to them, though. What if Rose and Zoë…what if…_

_Doctor! They'll be fine._

_Yeah, but_

_Doctor, stop being pessimistic._

_STOP?! Old girl, I care about those two people more than anything else in the world, and if I lose them then I couldn't live with myself._

_I KNOW_

_But what if I never see…_

_STOP IT!!!!_

_Alright. So you're sure…_

_Yes, I'm sure about DWOORTH &CO_

_Damn._

Finally, after another hour, the Doctor and the TARDIS managed to find a way to DWOORTH & CO. If they found something with either Rose's or Zoë's DNA on, and wired it up to the TARDIS, they would be able to land within a 100m radius of them. Which wasn't ideal, but it was the best they came up with. Finally, the ship clanked into life, and they were off.

"LET ME OUT!!!" Rose screamed, banging the walls, angry tears splashing down her front in anguish. She flopped down on the bed, exhausted, pummelling her pillow. "Please," she whispered "I'll do anything."

She heard a knock on the door, and the scrape of a key in the lock. She was so miserable, she didn't bother even looking up.

"Did I hear you correctly?" said a horribly familiar voice "Bruce, move this young lady to more comfortable quarters. She put a comforting arm around Rose "Your boyfriend's just arrived," she informed Rose "You can see him at once…as soon as you tell us everything. The truth."

**Hehe! What's gonna happen????!!!! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, please do so again :D Naomi.**


	8. Bloody inquisition

**This is not a nice chapter. Really. Sorry it's been so long, but I have not been allowed on the stupid computer for AAAAAAGES (heard that somewhere before). Anyway, sorry bout that, but this is quite long, so… **

Rose looked sideways at the manager suspiciously, while trying to memorise every turn they took – she did not want to be stuck here. It was vital she got to the Doctor first. She didn't know what they'd do to him, but she knew it wouldn't be good.

"What do you mean, the truth?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh, this and that. Your connections with aliens – don't lie and say you haven't got any your child is half Timelord unless I am very much mistaken," she looked sideways at Rose's face "Yes I thought so. Plus any other information you can five us about other species – their location, habits etc etc."

Rose made a non committal noise in her throat, and chewed her lip thoughtfully. Never in a million years could she tell this awful woman any real information; the Doctor would kill her quite apart from anything else; but she reckoned she had a broad enough knowledge to make up some plausible aliens and locations. The Doctor…he was a problem though. They had him, judging by earlier comments, and she had no idea how much he'd told them about himself, their relationship, Zoë. She'd have to avoid questions re: him. The manager was watching her closely.

"Well? You tell us all we need to know and…you and your boyfriend get freed. What d'you say?"

"But he's alien so why would you free him if that's what you're after?"

The manager looked thoroughly put out.

"Well…we would…if you give us enough…"

"I got that, thanks."

Rose sighed. She was possibly about to make the stupidest decision of her life, which could result in her getting badly injured, the Doctor getting locked up, and being stuck, stuck, stuck.. Still, if she did nothing, then there was no chance of things getting any better. She took a deep breath.

"OK, I'll do it."

The manager gave her a huge, toothy smile. It was horrible, and made her look like she was in pain. Rose wished she could wipe it off her face, but unfortunately the manager kept on grinning manically all the way back down the corridor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor hopped form foot to foot, biting his lower lip. Where was Rose? They had told him she'd be along soon, and although he didn't believe them, a part of him had hoped…oh well. She could look after herself, and he could certainly look after himself; so it was Zoë they really needed to worry about. Still, he could give it another half hour before he gave up hope of Rose "being along soon" and escaping this hell hole.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were halfway down the next excruciatingly clean corridor, when they came to an abrupt halt. Rose had just time to glance at a smug, self satisfied smile playing around the manager's lips, before she was shoved through a door. She cried to cry out, but a strong hand was curled hard around her face, and no one heard. She struggled against the man – she recognised him as Bruce Purple – as he half wrestled her up against the wall. She bit down on his fingers hard. He cried out in pain, and released her, but she had barely moved two steps when his hand shot form no where around her waist. He pinned her against the wall with one hand, and with the other fumbled with something she couldn't see. She struggled harder; his hand was pressing against her throat and she couldn't breathe. Then, Purple straightened up, thick chains clanking menacingly in one hand. He grinned at her, but it was nothing like the Doctor's huge smile he gave her. It was gruesome and menacing, and it was more like a leer. She couldn't move. Within seconds she was chained against the grimy wall, Bruce Purple's knife at her throat.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come _on_ Rose!" The Doctor said out loud. Ten minutes had already passed, and he didn't want to look for Zoë without her. But, if she didn't come…well he'd have to find her later

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rose gasped audibly as she felt the cold metal touch her skin. She jumped backwards slightly, and her head collided with the wall, hard. Stars popped in front of her eyes, and she blinked hard to try and get rid of them. She looked up in time to see the manager sauntering in, a very smug expression on her face indeed. She was practically bouncing up and down. Rose grimaced, and looked away again.

"Oh, this is simply wonderful!" the manager trilled, clapping her hands together with delight "Someone in contact with the Doctor! And…" she looked at Rose, her smile widening "You're a bit more than in _contact_ with the Doctor, aren't you, sweetheart?"

"What d'you want to know?" Rose asked savagely – she was not in the mood for being polite to people who had her daughter and her lover, and could kill both any time she like.

"Well we've been following him for such a long time…"

"Why?"

"Because of where he _goes._"

"But you can't follow the TARDIS. That's impossible…for humans."

"For humans, yes."

"What d'you mean?"

"We are…ahem…governed by higher powers, shall we say"

"Higher…" Rose looked at her "You lot are all employed by aliens?"

She had forgotten the knife at her throat as they talked, and as she said the last bit, Bruce jerked the knife. It formed a long, deep cut in her neck, just missing the artery, but letting blood spill down her neck, and soak into the neck of her shirt.

"What were you saying, dear?" the manger asked sweetly.

"You are!" Rose said, grinning "you're all forced into this by some deranged alien who wants to be the only species in existence! You're doing it's dirty work, getting rid of everything else…but, you mark my words, once you've finished, it'll be the human's turn…oh my God, you can be so stupid."

Bruce had turned the knife on it's side, and cut off one layer of skin, around the region of her collarbone. It hurt like hell, but Rose pressed her lips together, willing herself not to cry as he twisted it round roughly, so small beads of blood rose to the surface. The managed was smiling serenely.

"So, tell away," she said, sitting on a small wooden desk at the forefront of the room, and crossing her arms and legs. "I daresay you've been to a lot of places since we lost the pair of you at the battle of Canary Wharf."

"NO!!" Rose shouted, as Bruce carved the knife into her skin again. She was not going to tell them anything, not anything, even if it meant she had to die here. Because it wasn't just bad aliens they met. There were some which made humans seem like Daleks, who would die to save someone they'd never met, and she would not betray them. And she had a bad feeling that if she told on some of the more violent species, she would regret it very much. She blinked tears out of her eyes as her once white shirt turned mottled red.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor looked up as a figure was thrown into the cell he was sitting in, and fell face first onto the wet floor. They laid there for a second, then raised their head and looked around. He gasped in shock. It was Rose.

**Review :D**


	9. med bay

**Normally I'd say **_**don't hit me! **_**because this chapter has again taken about a century to write, but I think I deserve a good slap after what I did to Rose in the last one! Anyway, this one is a bit less horrible, and thanks so so so much to all reviewees! Hehe…Enjoy.**

Rose lifted her head off the ground. As far as she could see, she had been thrown into another cell like the last one, after having been proven to be a totally useless source of any useful information. It was almost pitch black, except for a dusty ray of sunlight that permeated the cobwebby ceiling. Heaving herself up off the grimy floor, Rose got to her feet, and brushed the majority of the dirt off herself. She hoped the cuts wouldn't get infected. She had just noted that unlike her last cell, there was no bed and the whole thing was completely bare, when she saw something move in the shadows. She jumped backwards a few paces, landing with a squelch, and splashing mud all over her once white jeans. The figure moved closer to her.

"Rose?"

"Doctor!" she screamed, recognising his voice instantaneously, and running over, skidding to a halt in front of him and enveloping him in a bone- crushing hug. He beamed and kissed her on top of the head.

"Where have you been?" he asked incredulously, still grinning like a maniac, his hands moving to cup her face . "I've been waiting for half an hour! And they said you'd be right along."

"You, managing to keep still for half an hour?" she teased "I don't believe that for a mo –"

"Seriously, though," he said, his voice losing its jovialness "Where _have _you been? I've been worried."

"Oh, you know," Rose said slowly, trying to avoid having to giving him an answer. She knew he'd be angry with what they'd done to her, and they didn't need any distractions on their quest to find Zoë. Plus, now there was the added complication that there was some alien controlling the whole place, who wanted all species except its own obliterated. They had to deal with that, too. She could wait.

"Oh yeah, I found out the reason they're doing all this stuff," she told him, smiling wryly "Big alien thing, controlling the whole company, wants all aliens – including humans – but its own destroyed. Using old DWOORTH & CO to do the dirty work."

"Is it now?" the Doctor said, putting his glasses on out of habit, and frowning "That's very interesting. Very, very, very interesting. Explains a lot. Well…unless…well it depends really. Could all be a big joke, but I don't think so. So…hmmm…very interesting. Course, could be the Racnoss or something, back for another shot, but I don't think so. This is too clever. So it must be…"

"…something else," Rose finished for him.

"Yup."

"So what we gonna do?"

"Weeell…first things first, we have to get the TARDIS back," he pulled out his sonic screwdriver "Easy enough."

Rose grinned.

"Like what you did when we was in that church with mum…and dad."

"Yup," the Doctor said cheerfully, and the screwdriver hummed slightly. "Cor, this place has rubbish security. I would've thought it wouldn't've let the old girl through…but oh well."

Rose and the Doctor retreated slightly as the big blue police box materialised in front of them, then stood still. The Doctor turned to Rose.

"After you," he said, holding the door open for her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hello!" Rose said out loud as she walked into the TARDIS, the contrasting bright light to the perpetual gloom dazzling her. She twirled round to face the Doctor, grinning.

"C'mon."

"Rose," he said, anger pulsing through his voice "Who did this to you?"

"What…oh yeah," she said, looking down at herself. In the joy of having found the Doctor and therefore a way to get their little girl back, she had almost forgotten. As he mentioned it, the pain came rushing back. "It's nothing, just…"

She found herself collapsing into his arms, head pressed into the crook of his neck, crying, as he stroked her hair, and held her close.

"Rose, Rose, it's ok," he murmured softly in her ear, lips brushing the top of her head "I'm so, so sorry sweetheart."

Rose sniffed and swallowed, and looked at him.

"It was them, Doctor," she said quietly "DWOORTH& CO. They wanted information and I wasn't giving them any. And I couldn't tell you because we have to find Zoë and I knew you'd be furious at them and…" she gave a huge sob, but continued "what if they've done this to Zo? Doctor…"

"Zoë'll be fine," he assured her "But Rose; you should've given them what they wanted. Nothing should be so important you have to get hurt like this."

Rose smiled slightly, and hugged him.

"But…" the Doctor continued "…first things first. You, Rose Tyler are going to the med bay. Now."

"But Zo…"

"You're forget we're in a time machine. Med bay."

Rose couldn't argue with that. She let him carry her through the maze – like corridors, to a bit of the TARDIS she'd never been in before, and which she hoped dearly she'd never have to visit again. The Doctor came to a halt in front of large white clinical looking door, with that beautiful Gallifreyan writing engraved into it. The Doctor had been teaching Rose a bit of the language, and she recognised the words medical bay. She looked at him, and he smiled, then nudged the door open with his foot.

Rose gasped. It was beautiful. Strange, unearthly instruments were scattered all over, but they looked just perfect, as if that was how they were meant to be, like in a still life. Dim, green lighting flooded the room, dancing on their faces, flickering around casting oddly shaped shadows around the dome shaped room.

The Doctor laid Rose down gently on one of the beds, and sat down himself.

"We need to clean these," he told her matter of factly. She smiled at him sweetly.

"No!"

He tickled her, but stopped when she winced horribly as his hands skimmed over her waist.

"How much have you have they hurt, Rose?" he asked sadly, a hand slipping under her head, and stroking her cheek softly. "C'mon then, shirt off, I need to see the damage."

Rose obliged, and the Doctor set to work.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, does that hurt?" the Doctor asked, pressing lightly on a huge gash near Rose's collarbone.

"Um…a bit."

The Doctor did something with some blue cream stuff.

"Now?"

"Wow that's loads better! That's brilliant!"

The Doctor smiled, kissing her gently on the lips as she sat up.

"Of course."

**So there you have it. I'm not sure when you'll be seeing Zo, whether it's next chapter or the one after, but it's pretty soon. And then there is the THING. In charge of DWOORTH& CO. What could it possibly be???? Oh, and something to keep you thinking…DWOORTH& CO is an anagram…REVIEW, peoples:D**


	10. Corica and Dalek

**I think I owe all of you guys a bit of an explanation, having not been on fanfiction for aaaaaaaages. Originally, I could have said that I was in Belgium, but seeing as I came back to England almost a moth ago, I don't really think that is much of an excuse. All I can say is that I just never got round to it, and just hope that everyone hasn't given up on me ever finishing this. Because I will. And – incidentally, I am now officially 14 as of the 18****th**** of July :D**

"Zoë," Rose said, the second the Doctor had finished treating her. "Can we go now?"

"God, you humans are stubborn!" he exclaimed, running a hand through his hair, giving him that ultra sexy just got out of bed look, which Rose loved. "You're like a little dog with a stick, you just won't let go. But yes, _of course _we're gonna get Zoë. We would've been even if you didn't keep going on."

"Good!"

Rose grinned, and hugged him. The Doctor looked down at her lovingly. She had her head nestled in the crook of his neck, a slight smile playing around her lips, which were slightly – ever so slightly – apart. He bent down, kissing her gently, then slowly deepening it as she wound her arms around his neck, flicking his tongue over hers. She pulled back slightly, her eyes locked on his, their noses still almost touching. Rose could've counted his eyelashes.

"Love you," she whispered, smiling and stroking his cheek.

"Quite right," he beamed back, leaning in for another kiss.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About half an hour (!!) later, the Doctor and Rose emerged, having remembered what they were supposed to be doing, then actually managing to tear away form each other long enough to walk down three corridors to the control room. They still had arms around each other, and their eyes kept sneaking little glances at the other. When they reached the control room, they sat down on the sofa, and contemplated the plan of action.

"OK," the Doctor said, absent mindedly stroking Rose's hair, as she laid her head on his shoulder. "The TARDIS should easily be able to access a map of old DWOORTH – ey place –" he tapped a couple of buttons on the pad "- ah here we are. And then…" he scrolled downwards "Bottom floor…here we are."

He pointed to some of the rooms depicted on the map.

"We were in here, see?" he indicated a small square labelled: _Aliens: Adult cell _"Which means Zo must be…here," he pointed to a larger box on the screen named _Aliens: Children _

"Brilliant!" Rose said, squeezing his hand and grinning.

"And then we're done," the Doctor said, a conclusiveness in his voice that few would argue with.

"Nope."

"What?

"What about finding out about these 'higher powers'? I would have thought you of all people would want to know what that means."

"Oh, Rose Tyler, what would I do without you?" he exclaimed, jumping up. He kissed her on top of the head, then leapt round to another part of the controls, jabbing buttons. He stopped to twirl a dial right up, then hit a button on the scanner keyboard.

"Set the coordinates to that cell, Rose," he said, still dancing around pulling levers. Rose obliged happily, moving over to the pad, and pressing the search key. It whirred, then zoomed right in on the little box, and numbers flashed up on the screen. Rose quickly typed them in, hit return, and smiled.

"Done."

The Doctor looked over at her, and grinned.

"Off we go."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zoë was cold. It was dark and wet and dirty, and she was hungry. The other children never said much. One boy, with bright blonde hair and dark suspicious eyes had wandered over to her when she had arrived. He didn't speak, just squeezed her hand reassuringly, and shuffled away. She had attempted conversation, but was very unsuccessful – he mumbled something under his breath and reclined further into the shadows. Not having discovered his real name, she had called him Corica – part of the name of a very hard to pronounce planet that Mummy and Daddy had been to, which she always enjoyed listening to stories about. Blinking against the gloom, Zoë peered at another girl, a similar age to her, who was skulking behind her, and whom she had not talked to.

"Hello…aaah!" Zoë jumped backwards, spotting her horns peeking from underneath her hair. The girl blushed, and walked away, leaving Zoë feeling guilty. She'd only been surprised.

A rasping, grating sound broke the silence. All the children reacted differently. Some seemed to come out of a reveree, others looked scared, or hid their faces. One small boy, who looked barely two, burst into noisy sobs. Zoë hurried over and scooped him up, arms immediately starting to ache due to his weight. As soon as he realised what was happening, he wailed louder. Zoë ignored him, and made for the fast materialising TARDIS, beaming. As soon as it had begun, the noise stopped. In the centre of the room stood a tall blue box. A door creaked open, and Rose stepped out. Every child watched, transfixed.

"Ugh, it's horrible here," Rose said, poking her head back in the TARDIS, to see where the Doctor had gone; he appeared moments later. "Poor kids where's…Zoë!!!" She beamed as Zoë made her way towards her, struggling under the boy's weight.

"Zo, who's…?" she asked pointing at him.

"Dalek," her daughter informed her, very matter of fact. "He started crying when the TARDIS materialised, so I tried to comfort him. He's better now."

"Dalek?" the Doctor said "Trust you, Zo. First word you ever said was Dalek, and now you've started calling innocent kids that, too. God so help any children you have…they'll all be named after aliens!"

"Doctor!" Rose chided him, hugging Zoë

"What?"

"We've gotta take him with us," Zoë pleaded.

"We can't," the Doctor said. "He's got his own family. Think how we'd feel if someone decided they liked you, Zo, and just took you with them. It's not right."

"Well we can't leave him here, either," Rose told him "You can't leave a little two year old on his own."

"He was on his own before."

Rose glared at him.

"Well, come on. Look Rose, second we've found out who's behind all this and stopped him, I promise we'll come back and find little Dalek his parents – if they haven't already got him – okay?"

"I suppose…" Rose said, frowning "OK Zo, time to go."

Zoë glowered at her father for a second, before running over to Corica, and presenting him with the startled Dalek. She whispered to him to take care of him, then rushed back over to her parents, leaping into Rose's arms. The Doctor grinned at his two girls, and ushered them into the TARDIS.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Half an hour later, they were all getting frustrated. Having all agreed that they had to stop whoever was behind all and stop them ASAP before any more alien kids got caught, they had no where to start. How were they going to find a completely unknown thing without help? Nothing to find a signal from, no DNA samples the TARDIS could tell them what it was from…no anything bar a mention from a deranged old lady who had been happy to torture people for information. Nothing. Nothing except circular conversations, which were getting on all of their nerves.

"We're gonna have to go back inside DWOORTH & CO," the Doctor said, for the millionth time.

"We can't," Zoë insisted. "Mummy might get hurt again." (having heard – roughly – what had happened whilst she and the Doctor had been locked up, Zoë had since flatly refused to go anywhere near the place).

"It's not me I'm worried about," Rose told her. "But even so, it'd be worth the risk if we could stop them."

"You're right," the Doctor said, rushing to her defence at once, glad she saw it this way, and was still as daring and brave as when he'd first met her. "Everything we do's a risk, Zo anyway."

"No way." Zoë told him, and the group lapsed into thoughtful silence. And so on.

The room was quiet for a moment. Then the Doctor voiced something he'd been sub consciously wondering for a while. He turned to Rose.

"Pete," he said simply

"Sorry?"

"Pete!" he repeated, looking delighted with himself.

"Um…what about him?"

"He's head of Torchwood!" the Doctor exclaimed happily, jumping up to face Rose and Zoë, beaming. "He must know something about old DWOORTH, it's a branch of his company!"

"No way," Rose said stubbornly "Dad would never…"

"But what if he doesn't know what it's doing. Just because he's aware it exists, doesn't mean he knows what it does or controls it. He's only in charge of the main bit of Torchwood, the bit that operates at Canary Wharf. I'm right, aren't I? So I bet there's the facility to have a bit of a shifty at other sections of the company. _And _if we still can't find who's behind this all, he can also probably get us into…"

"…DWOORTH &CO." Rose breathed. Zoë opened her mouth to speak, but Rose cut across her quickly "In a safe way so that none of us get hurt. And Mum would probably appreciate a visit, we said we'd come see her as soon as we found Zo."

"Let's go then," the Doctor beamed. "First stop, Tyler residence."

**There you go! Again, sorry it's been so long, but review anyway, and I promise I'll try and update sooner :D Naomi.**


	11. Pete's choice

**Chapter 11! Came a bit quicker than it's predecessor, you'll be pleased to know. I am in a rather strange mood though…so be warned, this could turn out rather weird. As I never check through my stories, it probably will, but I'll do my best.**

Jackie hummed quietly to herself, sipping her scalding hot tea, the newspaper propped up against her empty cereal bowl. She didn't normally read the newspaper this early in the morning – as she always said; getting up's bad enough, you don't need any more bad news before at least midday – but Pete had mentioned that something distinctly odd had been happening at Torchwood. He didn't elaborate, so Jackie had been reduced to scanning the whole of 'the Sun'. Finding nothing, she flung it aside irritably, stirring her tea absently, and wondering where on earth Rose was. She wasn't worried – the Doctor was probably doing his landing twelve months late thing, meaning they'd probably found Zoë ages ago. Either that, or the three of them had found some amazing new planet they'd discovered, that they couldn't possibly miss going to right away. She sighed. She would have liked to be able to see more of her daughter than she did, but she knew by now that it was an occupational hazard of Rose's boyfriend being an alien. Smiling slightly, she drained the mug, and dumped it in the sink, before turning to go upstairs.

A very familiar noise stopped her in her tracks. It was undoubtedly a TARDIS landing, and she spun around reluctantly, feeling no surprise at all as a large blue box appeared out of nowhere.

"I wouldn't mind," she told the kitchen "If he didn't always appear when I'm half dressed." Smiling ruefully, she watched the door ease open.

"…Zoë wait…WAIT! They won't even be up yet!" Rose was saying, trying to restrain her.

"Probably not," the Doctor agreed thoughtfully "funny things, humans. Don't get up 'til about 11 'o' clock then refuse to go to bed until past midnight – well if you're anything to go by anyway…hello Jackie!"

Jackie rolled her eyes.

"Is that all can say?"

"No, no, I can say a lot of things. Believe me I can say a site more than you, Jackie Tyler. I speak about…let's see…most languages under the sun and quite a few not under it. Actually, that's quite a stupid expression, because there isn't much under the sun except nothingness. Which isn't something at all, as it's nothing…yes?"

he said enquiringly at Rose, who had just nudged him harder than strictly necessary. "Oh yeah, we found Zo;"

he added unnecessarily, as Zoë had Jackie in a bone crushing hug. She grinned.

"I noticed."

Rose smiled too.

"Yeah – and believe you me that wasn't easy – Mum, d'you know where Dad is?"

"No he's left already – ROSE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELF!!??"

Rose looked down at herself, and realised what Jackie was on about. The Doctor's cream stuff had healed her wounds well; but there was still a certain amount of scarring which her v – neck top did nothing to hide. She chewed her lip nervously, moving closer to the Doctor instinctively. How were you supposed to explain that a member of your father's company had tortured you for information?

"Um…" she began.

"Don't you _um_ me, Rose Marion Tyler, someone has deliberately hurt you, and I want to know who and why NOW!"

"It wasn't his fault!" she retorted angrily, seeing Jackie looking at the Doctor as though it was.

"Did I say that?"

"No, but…"

"Rose, please," Jackie tried again, sounding slightly tearful "I'm not angry with you, I just have to know."

Rose moved forward, taking both her mother's hands, and looking her straight in the eyes.

"OK. You know the men who took Zoë…well it's like part of their…thing. Company if you like. Sort of like…well anyway they wanted …they wanted information…and I couldn't…yeah?"

"You mean they…?"

"Yeah."

"What are they called? This company?"

"DWOORTH & CO," Rose whispered.

"Hang on," Jackie said, letting go of Rose, and looking outraged "I've heard of them! That's a branch of Torchwood!" she looked at Rose again "Which your father runs!"

"It was…originally" the Doctor told her sombrely, one arm draped around Rose's shoulders "But Dwoorth broke away from Torchwood a long time ago. They're now an international alien racism society."

Jackie looked scandalised. Despite the fact that she and the Doctor had not got off to the best of starts, she was now quite fond of him, particularly since Zoë had come along. The idea of a international alien racism group, endangering him and Zoë, and consequently Rose, was not an idea she would ever support. What was worse, was that this group had started out under her husbands control, which meant it must have been his lack of discipline or inspection or _whatever_ which had led to this society being formed.

"But Pete…how could he have not noticed?"

"He may have been threatened," the Doctor told her "which is why we must see him. Rose has already found out that DWOORTH & CO is governed by _higher powers _and we reckon that's gotta be some alien who thinks it is superior to all other races. Once it's eliminated all non human entities, it'll be you lot. The entire human race."

"Why's it gotta be an alien?" Jackie protested "It's always an alien. Why can't it be some cracked old bloke who reckons he's got power over everyone or something. Why is it always an _alien_?" she turned to Rose "He's obsessed!"

Rose and Zoë giggled, and the Doctor looked amused.

"I'm sorry Jackie," he said, his voice forced seriousness "Next time I discover some plot to kill people, I'll make sure it's not an alien, specially for you."

She threw him a dirty look.

"Anyway, it's not always aliens, is it Rose? Remember…um…oh I dunno! But it isn't always."

Rose looked amused, raising her eyebrows.

"Anyway," the Doctor interjected, before she could make some comment to humiliate him further "That's all very well, but we came here to see Pete. Where…"

"He's left already, I told you!" Jackie said exasperatedly "But can't you sit still for one seco…"

"Nope!" the Doctor proclaimed happily "C'mon!" he added to Rose and Zoë, steering them back inside.

Peter Tyler sat at his desk, absently shuffling papers that he was supposed to be reading. He glanced down at one, but the writing merged and swam before his tired eyes, and he set it aside. He got up and paced around the room, wringing his hands, sitting down again, getting up and walking round and round; all the time a terrible weight weighing in the pit of his stomach. He thought of Rose, and knew that she had twenty times his guts, and that she would never have given in to blackmail. But what choice had he had? Dracuntiousf had threatened to kill the whole human race if he did not cooperate. How was he supposed to get around that one? He couldn't let everyone die just to save a few aliens. There was no choice. A voice in his head, not unlike that of the Doctor's, chided him for his decision. _It'll kill us all, anyway. All you did was buy us a few extra days._ He thought of the Doctor, and of Rose, and of Zoë particularly. He realised that it was his rash decision that had led to his granddaughter being captured, maybe, in time, the Doctor too. The thought of the Doctor imprisoned was awful; despite the fact he did not like how he always thought he was in charge, his authority had saved many lives. Had he just locked up the world's one hope of survival against Dracuntiousf? Pete licked his lips nervously. He new that at his command, he could stop DWOORTH & CO, he could send them back to being a grubby little branch of Torchwood on the outskirts of London. Dare he risk the future of his entire race?

**Does Peter Tyler have the guts? And if he does, can the Doctor stop Dracuntiousf? Review, and I'll update ASAP Naomi xxx**


	12. Dangerous Driving

**Hey guys again! I bet you all thought I'd forgotten this story, and if you did you'd almost be right. I thought it was a bit rubbish, but I just read it and I was gripped! By my own story! How big-headed is that? It is awesome though ;) So here we go…ARE YOU READY!?!?! 1, 2, 3, 4….!**

Pete drummed his fingers on his desk, biting his lip, head throbbing. It was then he realised that Torchwood had only ever really been a company to him. He could order people about, he could file paperwork, he could attend meetings…but when it came to the really important life or death situations, he was useless. A part of his brain registered that if he didn't make a decision soon, it would be made for him. He picked up the phone, hands shaking, and was greeted by a cool, female voice. He took and deep breath, swallowed, then spoke.

"Put me through to Dwoorth&Co. I'm shutting them down."

………………………………………………………

Leaving a scandalised Jackie outside the TARDIS, the Doctor clattered up towards the control panel, randomly stabbing buttons, ferociously kicking a lever, darting back and forth, sparks flying. Rose patted the TARDIS consolingly, and Zoë rolled her eyes. The Doctor was in such a flaming hurry he was taking even less care with his ship than he usually did. Two burnt fingers later (the TARDIS had got fed up with being mistreated) she lurched into motion, sending the Doctor sprawling across the room into Rose. Zoë giggled, hanging off a pillar, as he tried to get off her, failed, and smashed into the wall again.

………………………………………………………

_You are being transferred to the operator. Please be patient._

Pete drummed his fingers impatiently on his desk again, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, shaking slightly. Why couldn't they hurry up? He jammed the phone to his ear, trying not to swear violently as it filled the room with "Clair de la Lune" Was now really the time? He listened with increasing impatience, until the phone went dead. He grimaced. Well, two could play that game. The building was only a few minutes drive.

The receptionist looked up from her work to find a pale Peter Tyler charging across the hall. He spotted her, and made a beeline for her. He shoved some keys, a swipe card, and a mobile phone into her hands.

"Go up to my office. The keys will get you in. If the Doctor comes, I've gone to Dwoorth. And ring if anything, _anything_ happens." He smiled fleetingly, then dashed out the door. A moment passed, and she heard a van door being abused. A screech of rubber later, and the building was silent. Tammy looked down at the objects in her hands. She stared at them for a split second, then ran for the lift.

………………………………………………………..

The Doctor spun around in the middle of Pete's office, hands running through his hair, agitated. Trust Pete not to be in.

"Why is he _never _here when we need him?" the Doctor asked angrily "Like when the whole WORLD is danger, maybe?"

Rose, shook her head, biting her lip. Piles of paper littered the room, as if someone had thrown it off the desk in frustration. The office phone was off the hook, as if, as if…someone had left in a hurry and forgotten about it. But why? The door creaked, and both she and the Doctor spun around, Rose subconsciously shoving Zoë behind her. A young woman, probably in her early thirties, with long black hair, a heart shaped face, and dark green glittery eyes, was peeking around the door. She had her hands behind her back, and when she spotted the intruders, she brought her hands from behind her back, revealing a large black gun. Her eyes narrowed.

"Don't move a muscle, Doctor, or I'll shoot."

…………………………………………………………..

Pete sped along the narrow back roads, bouncing off the curbs in his hurry. Derelict buildings rushed past. Passers by jumped out of the way as the van hurtled past, narrowly missing them. Pete kept his eyes on the road, jaw set, brows knitted together in a rigid line of determination. His phone, precariously balanced on the dashboard flashed into life, and he jumped, nearly smashing into a couple of old ladies on the grimy pavement. Tammy was shrieking down the phone something about armed intruders, and there was a male voice too, one which he should recognise, but couldn't. He could hear a child sniffling in the background, and prayed to God that it wasn't Zoë. Finally, he screeched to a halt outside his destination, grimacing at the overflowing dustbins, and boarded windows. It was the perfect place to hide an alien racist group. And that was a perfect place to hide something that was alien itself, something that wanted the human race dead. Although it was no longer a direct branch of mainstream Torchwood, he was still technically in charge, and the last thing he wanted was any alien getting hold of Torchwood equipment. It could rip a hole in the fabric of reality, destroy anything. Wipe out the human race? Sure, no problem.

Pete stormed through the double doors, his face set in an expression of fury and authority. Two thug like figures made towards him, but his expression silenced them, and they let him charge through. Pete burst through the next set of double doors, and was faced with a dilemma. He had never visited this place, and he had no idea where the power supply was. He peered down the corridors that would either take him left or right. One was brightly lit, and it had an almost sterilised feel to it. The other was far more dingy, and looked as though it were used rarely. He took the left, striding down the grease stained carpet. The old lights flickered feebly, and a spider crawled away from him, into the polystyrene tiled ceiling. He walked for what seemed like an age, until he heard a low humming, a humming of immense electrical power. Bingo.

……………………………………………………………

"Don't move a muscle?" the Doctor repeated, sounding slightly disappointed. "I hate it when people threaten me with that, because if you meant it, you'd have shot me by now. For one thing, I am utterly incapable of keeping my mouth shut for five seconds, and I need to move muscles to talk. And secondly, blinking. Eye muscles. Daft ape" he grinned at Rose "This kind of foiled our plan, didn't it?"

She nodded.

"See…Tammy, is it?" he squinted at her name badge for a moment "I really don't like my plans being foiled. Not really. Doesn't make me a happy man. So…" he paused dramatically, looking very pointedly at the girl in front of him "I'd just put down that gun right now."

She smiled at him mockingly, raising her delicate eyebrows and smirking. She had the upper hand, she had the weapon, and he thought she was going to take orders from him? When she'd spent months faking loyalty to Torchwood, sucking up to Mr Tyler, just so that, when the Manager gave the order, she might get a shot at the Doctor. Fat chance.

"I don't think so." She leered: an expression which did not suit her pretty face.

"Oh well." The Doctor sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets dejectedly "Guess you're going to have to shoot me."

He moved from his stance in the middle of the room, and stood right in front of her. Her fingers tightened on the gun. There was a click. Then, grinning, in what could only be described as evilly, Tammy squeezed her fingers together, and pulled the trigger.

**There we go! Things are getting exciting now, aren't they? I have now actually remembered where I'm going with this, though if anyone spots any plot holes or anything, do tell me, because I haven't written any of this for ages. Review, and I'll attempt to post again soon :) Henry needs some lovvve. (he's the review button)**


	13. Big Threatning Button

**Sorry this was so long. Damn site was temporarily unavailable for 3 days. Not much to say. Read on!**

Nothing happened. Nothing at all. Tammy's smugness died, as she looked down at the gun uncertainly. The Doctor grinned, and held out his hand. With almost trance like obedience, she handed the Doctor the gun, expecting him to shoot her. To her surprise, he flung it into a corner, turned to the blonde woman, who was staring at him with tears in her eyes. Clearly she expected the Doctor to be dead. The little girl behind her was peering around her legs with a little smile on her face. Tammy looked at the three. She looked at the Doctor. She looked at the blonde woman. Then she looked at the little girl. Oh. She was their daughter? It was then that her shocked brain registered that the Doctor was speaking to her.

"Now I know that some people like to use guns…which I don't anyway, but still. The point is that never point that kind of gun at a guy with a-" he pulled a thin instrument from his pocket "-Sonic Screwdriver!"

The blonde woman grinned at him, and the little girl giggled.

"Let's go. Later, Tammy." He walked straight past her, and disappeared out the door.

…………………………………………………………

Pete crept forward. Looked like her had found the power supply to the whole building. Perfect. He kicked the door down, and made a mental note to improve security on the main power supply when he got back to Torchwood – wood was just too easy to break. With the door out of the way, he stared in at the tangle of wires, flashing lights, all pulsing with an immense electrical current. He pulled a curtain of wires out of his way, then reached for a large red button, flashing feverishly. He reached out, pressed it. Everything went black. A hand came out of nowhere, covering his mouth, and he was dragged away, down the pitch black corridor, away, into the darkness.

……………………………………………………………

Back into the TARDIS, over to the control panel, the buzz of levers and buttons and switches. A loud clunk, and then the swoop of motion. Sparks. The floor swayed ominously, then a jerk, and complete silence.

"Dwoorth&Co." Rose murmured.

"Welcome back." The Doctor added grimly.

A messy brown head poked around the edge of the blue door. It grimaced. It was pitch black. The Doctor reached a hand behind him to Rose, who grabbed it eagerly, Zoë clinging to her back, grinning her head off and squinting into the darkness. Then her face fell, and she glared at the Doctor.

"You said we were going in the safe way with granddad." She frowned, gripping Rose's shoulders protectively.

"I no Zo, but he's gone…somewhere: he might even be here."

"Might." Zoë stuck out her bottom lip. "That means he's probably not.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Rose.

"It's your fault." She said, giggling "You're the smart one of us two, so don't complain - she inherited it off you."

Slowly, the door clunking shut behind them, they shuffled awkwardly down the dark corridor. From what Rose could see, this was a different part of the building than she'd been in before; it was just one long corridor, with moth eaten carpets, and dodgy florescent tubes that had clearly given out for one reason or another. She was just about to ask how far they were going to be walking, when there was a 'thud' and an 'ouch!' from in front of her, and she frantically felt in front of her for the Doctor: she didn't remember letting go of his hand.

"Damn door." Rose heard a figure scrambling up off the floor, sounding somewhat disgruntled. "Walked right into me…oooh, power supply."

The Doctor carefully navigated his way around the open door this time, and stuck his nose into the small cupboard. It was a tangle of wires, with switches lined up on virtually every wall.

"It's been switched off;" the Doctor observed helpfully "All the power in the building. Still, can easy sort that." He reached out, and the second person to do so that day, pressed the large red button on the back wall.

Almost instantaneously, alarms sounded, reverberating around the narrow corridor. The lights flickered into life, in time for them to see large thug like figures charging down both ends of the corridor. Rose swung Zoë off her back, cradling her to her chest, and the Doctor's grip on her hand became almost vice like, as his eyes darted back and forth, looking desperately for an escape. None appeared, and the figures were nearly there. He watched Rose squeeze her eyes shut and waited for the impact.

With the force of a bullet, they collided. The corridor became a seething mass of bodies, and he could no longer tell where Rose and Zoë were. Rose's hand had somehow been wrenched from his grip, he could here high pitched screaming, and kicked viciously at his captor. No one was going to hurt his daughter on his watch. Through the dim light, he could see blonde hair flashing back and forth. He saw Rose bite her own captor so viciously he dropped her, and she began through the crowd, trying to get to Zoë. He struggled passionately, yelling and kicking, not caring, for once, if he hurt someone. So long as Rose and Zoë were OK. Someone slammed him into a wall. He cursed for this regeneration's slim build. Why couldn't he have been bigger built, so he could fight for the two things that mattered most to him in the universe? Pain shot across his head. He could feel hot wetness running across his face. And everything went black.

**Haha!! New cliffhanger!! (I know how much you guys love them). Review, and I might update quicker. Well I will asap. :D**


	14. Lidrako

**Sitting here listening to Avenged Sevenfold!! Good band. Anyhow, the chapter… might add another cliffhanger if I'm feeling mean, maybe, maybe not…**

***Come back to me, it's almost easyyyyy…***

**LOL!! Read, read…**

The first thing he registered was pain, blunt and throbbing, in the region of his skull. He blinked, and remembered that he had been fighting. Fighting? What for? Rose! His eyes snapped open suddenly, and focused on the room around him. It was large, square, and the walls were made of some dark grey stone, that dripped in the moist air, and upon which grew algae, green and slimy. Flickering lights were scattered across a ceiling made of the same material, buzzing as the light dipped and flared. On the wall opposite him, chains hung, but to his relief they were unused. He looked around, his eyes searching for Rose and Zoë. He found them, huddled in the corner, maybe five metres from him. He shook his throbbing head, and walked carefully over to them. Zoë looked fine – if a little shaken – and was clinging to Rose fiercely, glaring at the sodden wall. Rose wasn't doing so well. He lip was bleeding, and she had a long scratch down her face. The Doctors hearts went out to her, and he could feel himself getting angry. Why was it Rose that always got hurt? He pulled the pair of them off the floor, lifting Zoë up, and hugging Rose to his chest, wiping blood gently from her lip.

"What happened," he asked, hugging her possessively, and feeling rage bubble in his chest.

"Well," Rose shook her hair out of her face, and took Zoë from him, so she could look at him "I was trying to get to Zoë – I managed to take out one guy – and then it was all a bit of a blur. I saw them get you down, and that was pretty much all they needed. It was horrible, you were bleeding and everything, I was distracted, and they dragged us up this place, and left us." She shrugged. "That's it." Her eyes flicked to his head, and she pressed her lips together. The Doctor mirrored her gaze, and reached his fingers up to touch it. Ouch.

"You need to get something on that," Rose whispered.

"I bet this is where whatever's controlling Dwoorth is," Zoë interjected suddenly, wriggling out of her mothers arms, and looking at the Doctor. "We've been causing trouble, so where else would they take us?"

Both the Doctor and Rose stared at her, mouths open. Slowly, the Doctor's mouth curved into a grin.

"Yes!" He spun away from Rose and Zoë, pulling his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, eyes darting round the room "So what we need is to get it to come out!" the screwdriver whirred, and flashed blue, and the Doctor darted across the room, until it was flashing like a strobe. There was a loud 'clunk!' and the scraping of stone on stone. A large crack appeared in the opposite wall, slowly getting wider and wider. Zoë almost skipped towards it, peering at it from behind the Doctor, and Rose followed after her, taking his hand, and also looking towards the growing gap in what had appeared to be a solid wall.

At first it seemed like a gaping mouth, a black hole of nothingness. Then, when their eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, indistinct shapes could be seen. A large, cuboid shape that could possibly be a massive control system, a figure lying motionless on the floor, and a huge indistinguishable shape that was throwing an immense shadow over the whole scene. Blinding lights flared, and the three jumped back in horror.

A huge creature was sat on what looked vaguely like an operating table. This room was clinically clean, but the air was still almost unbearably damp. The creature had an amphibian look about it, which was probably why. It had a head like a dragon, scaled, but twisted and knarled, like an ancient tree. Vicious spines ran down its back, ending in a short tail, like some kind of grotesque caricature of a frog. Its body bulged unpleasantly, and was secreting some kind of yellow pus, which ran down onto the table. Its legs were scaled, like the rest of it, and were curled underneath the flabby skin of the stomach. It looked at the three travellers, opened its mouth, and snarled.

A corner of the room that had been still been in a dense shadow suddenly burst into light. There was a spinning office chair there, and as is spun around to face them, Rose sucked in her breath, colliding with the Doctor as she stumbled back. A horribly familiar face was looking at her, the face of a jolly grandmother, but twisted with evil intent. Her eyes flicked to the figure on the floor, and instinct told her what her brain hadn't yet realised. It was Pete.

A wordless scream flew from her lips as she flew at the figure, not caring about anything, just wanting to hurt her, to kill her, to punish her for trying to destroy everything she loved. She didn't hear the Doctor yelling her name, she broke free of his restraining arms, she barely saw the huge beast leering down at her: all she saw was the twisted, sick, _woman_ who had killed her father. She was a few inches from her, when she felt herself thrown backwards, hit the floor with a crunch, and looked up, to see the face she hated smiling placidly at her. She could feel the Doctor's hands on her face, but couldn't care, didn't care. She moved away from him, and felt him retreat, unsure of what to do. She rolled over, crawling over to where Pete lay.

The Doctor was having a huge amount of difficulty not reacting like Rose had. All he wanted to do was scream and hurt and cry, cause as much damage to whatever was causing Rose's world to fall apart. He felt Zoë leave his side, and saw her kneel down next to Rose. He, however, marched straight up to the woman and the monster, chin up, rage emanating from every part of his body like a force field.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice deadly calm, eyes flashing as they bored straight into the Manager's own. She smirked, and he very nearly lost control completely. Slowly, she stood up, walking slowly towards him, until she was straight in front of him. She looked up into his face, raised one long taloned finger, pressing it hard into his chest, and pushing him back.

"And why?" she paused, looking pointedly at the huge creature behind her "would I do what you say – Doctor – when you are at my mercy? Why should I even speak to you?"

By this time, poor devastated Rose had managed to scramble to her feet, and although tears still coursed down her cheeks, she stood defiantly by the Doctor's side, chin up, glaring at the Manager.

"Well someone clearly wanted us here, didn't they? Fine, so this is some kind of sick alien racist society, whatever. He's an alien, so's Zoë, but if that was why you wanted them, you'd've just locked them down in the cells, like before. Somone wants to see us, maybe it's you, maybe not, but stop lying and acting like you weren't expecting us! Why else would you have kil-" her voice broke, and she held onto the Doctor "Why else would you have killed Dad! You wanted us, so just bloody well do what you wanted to, cause we're here!"

The Manager sighed, dropping her superior airs for a moment. Her face fell, and for a moment, she looked like the crumpled old lady she should have been, sad and broken. Rose started forward, her heart going out to her despite herself, only to jump back as her face twisted again, her eyes lit up, and her normal grin spread across her face.

"I do whatever the Lidrako wants me to. How could I not when it has promised me eternal life? When it has promised to save me from the doom that will befall the human race and every single other race in the whole of reality. Just me and it, ruling the whole universe forever. Would _you _have refused that?"

"Always." The Doctor's response was immediate, his voice cold. "Eternity is a curse, and _nothing_ is worth that amount of destruction, not ever."

"Rose?" the Manager's voice became sweet, as her gaze switched to the blonde woman sobbing still, at the Doctor's side, trying to comfort her little girl.

"Don't talk to her." The Doctor spat.

"Would you do that? If it meant you could stay with him forever?"

Rose was taken aback. Right now, no matter how devastated she was, she knew that the one thing she wanted to keep forever was the Doctor. Would she kill to do that? No. But was that true? She could feel his eyes on her, could almost see the smug smile forming on that vile woman's face, as she proved to the Doctor that she, Rose Tyler, was just as weak and just as – it was hard to think the word – evil as she was. No! She wouldn't do that, the Doctor was right, nothing was worth that.

"Never."

And that was around the time that Pete woke up.

**Reviews!! Pweeeeeeeeease! Will give you cyber-cupcakes! :)**


End file.
